Chapter 13
My Own Worst Enemy (Ron)
My name is Ron Weasley.
And I am a prisoner in my own head.
I don't know how it happened. All I remember is someone grabbing me as I went into the backyard to practice Quidditch, and suddenly I wasn't alone in my head. There was a Yeerk there too.
I could no longer control my body.
I've almost given up all hope. Just a small spark of light keeps me from sinking into despair: the Yeerk can't use my magic. It's still mine, and sometimes I can control it enough to overthrow the Yeerk's hold. Even though it lasts for just a few seconds, it makes the Yeerk nervous.
Oh, and by the way, the Yeerk's name is Istrum. Actually, it's Istrum 542 of the Niiar Pool.
Istrum laughed as he watched Harry desperately trying to master a spell gone wrong. Although we couldn't use my magic, we still had to go to class.
Which still bored me to tears.
Your friend is quite naïve, Ronald. Istrum told me, matter-of-factly.
I scowled inwardly. It never reached my lips, of course. I hated it when he called me "Ronald", and he knew it.
"He is not!" I screamed, "He's one of the best people in the world! He's loyal, and brave, and would try to save me any day. He just doesn't know… how could he!? Oh, but he'll find out! And once he does, he's going to save me, and you know it!"
Istrum laughed. You are full of false hopes. He will find out only when one of my people has infested him. I don't doubt his qualities, for I can tell from your memories he lives up to them. Don't be disappointed when he doesn't save you, Ronald. You know how your emotions influence my own.
I scowled again. "Harry will find out, and he will save me," I fumed. "Even if I have to show him somehow, I will."
Istrum sorted through my thoughts. I hated how he did that. He watched my memories as easily as a muggle watches… what do you call it? Oh, yeah, a video.
He pulled out a memory from when I was three or so. It happened to be the one when I broke Fred's toy broomstick:
"What did you do!?" yelled Fred, looking down at the two pieces that used to be his toy broomstick.
"Um—uh—I—" I stuttered. I hadn't meant to break it. I quailed under his furious stare. Frightened, I clutched my teddy bear to my chest. It was one of the only things that could comfort me when one of my brothers picked on me.
Suddenly, my teddy bear wriggled in my grasp. I gasped in surprise and looked down. I let loose a petrified scream. My teddy bear was no longer a teddy bear, but a living, hideous spider! It had far to many legs that thrashed against my grip. It clicked its pincers centimeters away from my face and studied me with its eight, compact eyes.
I screamed again and dropped it, backing into the house in total terror. The spider advanced on me. I screamed even louder.
Mum burst out the back door. She saw me cowering against the house, the spider that was approaching me, the two pieces of Fred's broomstick, and the red-faced Fred that was holding the pieces.
Her whole face became livid. "Fredrick Gregory Weasley!" she shrieked. She summoned her broom and ran at the spider. With one great sweep of the broom (A/N: Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha! ::coughs:: Sorry.), she sent it zooming across the yard.
I ran to her and hugged her knees. She picked me up and kissed my tearstained face. She stroked my long bangs back from my eyes. "Don't worry, Ronnie. It's gone. It'll never come back!" she soothed.
"Really?" I asked in a voice that quivered.
"Really," she said, holding me tight.
I buried my face in her shoulder. The smell of flowers and her cooking filled my nostrils. It comforted me. As long as she was there, I knew, I would be safe.
Istrum laughed as the memory finished.
I sobbed angrily in my own little corner in my mind. I wanted the Yeerk out of my head. I wanted control of my own body again. I wanted to blow something up.
But I couldn't.
"Leave me alone!" I shouted, "Isn't it enough you have control my body? Do you really need to torture me, too?"
Yes, Istrum replied, It
makes my time much more… enjoyable. Now, shut up while I copy these notes. This
technology is actually quite fascinating, but it is difficult to master.
I laughed grimly. "Technology!
Ha! That's a muggle thing. I'm sorry to break it to you, Istrum, but it's not
technology. It's magic. It has no explanation! Quit fooling
yourself! Does this look like muggle technology?"
Shut up!
He wriggled my arm into a very uncomfortable position. I yelped in surprise, and scowled some more.
Istrum copied down the notes on the blackboard. My hand was starting to cramp from writing so much. He sighed, and shook it. The pain lessened, but didn't leave.
"Honestly, Ron," Hermione said primly, "You've only written five things, and you're hand's starting to cramp!"
"Hey, I'm not you, Hermione. I don't happen to be Homework Hitler. I haven't written one letter over this summer, and it's softened my hand up. You'd think I actually did extra credit," Istrum muttered, just like I would have.
That made me furious. He sounded just like me. It just wasn't right. Harry and Hermione would probably realize this Yeerk threat only when it was too late.
"Ooooh," she raged, "You—"
"Stop!" said Harry. He glared at me, then Hermione. "We're not going to get anything done if you two keep bickering. Ron, I know you can't do any practical work, I know its boring, but please don't provoke Hermione. You remember the fight you guys had in third year? Now, quit it. I actually think this is interesting." He turned back to his work.
Hermione looked at me and shrugged. She gestured to my—Istrum's—notes.
"Hi-ho, Hitler," Istrum mouthed.
She rolled her eyes.
"Mr. Weasley, do you have something you wish to share with the class?" asked Professor McGonagall, startling Istrum and I both.
Istrum jumped and looked up sharply. My face flushed with his embarrassment. I could tell my ears and probably the back of my neck was red for the same reason. "No," he murmured.
"What did you say, Mr. Weasley?" demanded my Transfiguration professor.
Istrum's blush deepened. "Hi-ho, Hitler," he said, my voice barely audible.
"What was that?"
"Hi-ho, Hitler!" he practically yelled.
The whole class roared with laughter. Harry and Hermione had a hard time fighting down giggles. Hermione tried to hide a smile behind her hand, and Harry buried himself in his notes to conceal his grin.
The bell rang. Istrum leapt to my feet. He gathered my books, shoved them in my backpack, and ran out of the classroom.
"That was classic," quipped Hermione when she and Harry caught up with him.
Harry glared at her, which silenced her.
I smiled inwardly. Good, old Harry. He always stuck up for me. I could never imagine him changing his ways.
"Harry! Harry! Over here!" called a voice from the crowd.
As one, our threesome turned to see the speaker. A tall girl came running through the crowd. She skidded to a halt in front of us.
And my heart stopped beating.
I was in love! She was tall, almost as tall as me. Her brown eyes sparkled mischievously. Her hair shone in the candlelight and fell to about her shoulders. She was grinning, revealing slightly large incisors. Her features were rounded slightly. She was pale, with skin the color of ivory.
As my emotions influenced Istrum's, my face started to flush again. My throat seriously stopped working. I started to sweat, causing Istrum to pull nervously at my collar.
Stop it! yelled Istrum. I was delighted to hear a note of panic in his voice.
"Hey, Harry," panted the girl.
"Hi, Rachel. What brings you here?" Harry replied, glancing nervously at me.
"Could you meet me sometime later today? It's very important." Rachel said, tossing her beautiful hair over her shoulder. She smiled at me. I nearly fainted, which caused Istrum to start screaming at me again.
"H-hi," stuttered the Yeerk. He made my eyes rove her figure. His eyes flicked past something that made me gasp.
Rachel had the Slytherin crest on her robes.
"Ooooh," I moaned, "Mum is gonna kill me! I have a crush on a Slytherin!"
What are you talking about? The Visser is going to kill us both if he knows you like this other human! It will ruin any attempts at infesting her that I may make!
"Serves you right…" I muttered.
"Okay," Harry said in a would-be casual voice, "Bye!"
"Bye!" replied Rachel, and ran off down the hall.
He turned to me once she left. "Love is in the aiiir!" he sang.
"Shut up!" yelled Istrum, blushing furiously.
Hermione giggled. He rounded on her. "It's not funny! If anything's funny, it's your relationship with Viktor Krum!"
She gasped. Her eyes watered and a look of intense hurt took over her countenance. She turned around, nose in that air, and strutted down the hall.
"Ron!" yelled Harry.
That made my anger toward Istrum into fury. He had just destroyed my friendship with Hermione, and probably Harry too. I grabbed my magic and shoved. "Let go of me!" I screamed.
To my surprise, it half-left my lips. "Lep ga 'f 'ee!" I said, the words slurred at the tip of my tongue.
Harry stared at me for a long while. "C'mon, Ron, let's go apologize to Hermione," he said. He turned and walked in the direction Hermione had.
Istrum started shrieking at me, but I didn't listen. I was thinking about what I had just done. The small sparkle of light had turned into a ray of hope.
If I pushed hard enough, I could control my body again.
A/N: Muahahaha! ::coughs:: Anyway… I'm sorry that was a little confusing. I'll try better next time. Oh, and was this quick enough for you? It only took two days! ^_^ Stay tuned for the next chapter, "Chapter 14: Switching Spells (Jake)"!
